Gavin Grades The Movies

The Social Network

by Gavin,posted Sep 30 2010 9:44PM

This sounded like the worst movie EVER! Am I right?! Was anyone actually excited about a movie about freaking Facebook?! How shocking could it be? The dude gets unfriended in the end? Boy, could I have not been more wrong though. Who knew that the history of Facebook is so interesting? Mark Zuckerberg did, for one. He's the teenage genius that created the social network and is played very well by Jessie Eisenberg (Zombieland, Adventureland). This was exactly what he needed to get out from the shadow of Michael Cera and prove that he's not just a cheaper version of him but instead a serious actor that should be given his deserved attention. Another actor in this film that demands attention is *gulp, sigh* Justin Timberlake, and yes I mean THAT Justin Timberlake. Apparently, when he's not bringing sexy back, he's taking acting classes because he's great in this as the creator of Napster, Sean Parker, who becomes a perfect villain for this tale. But still, why is this interesting to anyone? Well, apparently there were two lawsuits filed against Zuckerberg and Facebook at the same time and out of those lawsuits came three very different stories of what actually happened, who did what and when. Getting more interesting, right? Now throw in the combination of two guys at the top of their craft to tell the story and you've got yourself a dream team. Director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) is one of the best directors out there now and Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) is not only one of the best screenwriters in Hollywood but also has his own frenzied pace of dialogue that never gets old or dusty. These guys put together such an amazing vehicle for which this story is allowed to rocket along at a two-hour runtime that seems to be 45 minutes, that it may be some of their best work...it definitely is for Sorkin. To top it all off, the score for the film is done by former Nine Inch Nails genius, Trent Reznor, who Fincher worked with before on Seven. He's made such a haunting and playful electronica musical score for this that the phrase "Oscar-winner Trent Reznor" seems like it should have always been how we referred to him. In fact, there's no reason why everyone I've mentioned above should be nominated for an Oscar for this film. On top of that, I'd say that The Social Network is the film to beat for Best Picture this year. Not too shabby for what started off as the most boring-sounding movie I ever heard. But really what it is is a version of Goodfellas for the 21st Century. It's a gang that no longer gets back at people by shoving an ice pick into the back of their heads but taking them to court for hundreds of millions of dollars. They don't rule the streets with an iron fist but rule cyberspace with geeky pompousness. No one in the movie is 100% bad and no one is 100% good. Zuckerberg is portrayed as someone who wages a war on privilege, apathy and wealth by creating something that all the ivy league sons of millionaires couldn't do...an original idea that only he could make. But once he makes the monster in his lab, it breaks out and runs amuck on the citizens of the town below. The question is will anyone want to actually pay to see a story about this nerd and his quest for respect? Well, if Facebook was a country, it would be the third most populated country on Earth. So, yeah, I'd imagine some people have interest in it.
The Social Network (Rated PG-13)
Gavin Grade: A+